


A Father To His Men

by Leonawriter



Category: Pocket Monsters: Ruby & Sapphire & Emerald | Pokemon Ruby Sapphire Emerald Versions
Genre: Fluff and Humor, Gen, Team as Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-10
Updated: 2015-01-10
Packaged: 2018-03-06 22:12:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 461
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3150128
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Leonawriter/pseuds/Leonawriter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Being a leader meant keeping the team in line, making sure their reputation was kept clean, and… occasionally, a slight slip of the tongue.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Father To His Men

The grunt stood in front of his leader, obviously nervous – and rightly so. 

Maxie frowned.

“Perhaps I might like to remind you that Team Magma now has a _reputation_ to uphold. More even than it did beforehand. And even then, such behaviour would have been frowned upon… if I had been informed of it.”

The grunt swallowed hard, staring into the space straight ahead, not quite in the direction of Maxie’s face but only just missing.

“At no point have I approved of graffiti, vanadalism, paying without entry, or violence toward bystanders without good reason.  Everything we have done was in the hopes of a better future – and regardless that our aims were, to say the least, misguided at best for a time, we still attempted to do so with honour and dignity. So. What have you to say for yourself?”

The grunt blinked, and swallowed again, opening and closing his mouth.

“I… I, um…”

The words, or what were trying to be words, came out weakly. Maxie sighed, and counted to ten.

“…I will take into consideration the fact that you were merely being over-zealous in your admiration of the team. I merely wish you to know that any further actions of the like will not be given such light consequences. Am I understood?”

The relief on the young man’s face was as if the sun had come out after rain, and Maxie was the one who had caused it. He wasn’t sure quite what to do with the reaction.

“Yes! I won’t – I’m sorry dad-“

They both stared at each other. The grunt’s eyes went wide, and he swallowed again, hard, as it had apparently not been expected on _either_ end.

“Sir! I meant sir! Thank you sir!”

“…Dismissed.”

The grunt practically ran. Maxie turned to Tabitha, who was trying not to laugh.

“If you say _one word_ …” He shook his head, relaxing somewhat from being the disapproving leader. “I’m not _that_ old, am I?”

Tabitha was still smiling. It was infuriating. And then his friend and admin put a hand on his shoulder.

“It’s not that, Maxie. It’s just – the team’s better now than ever before, we’re closer together, and… you’re their leader. They look up to you.”

“I… suppose.” There was apprehension there, though. And a lot of it. “So what am I supposed to _do_ with it?”

“Do? Just, well, exactly what you’ve been doing since we turned over a new leaf! It’s worked so far, hasn’t it?”

Maxie gave Tabitha a sour look.

“And that is _so very helpful._ ”

Tabitha just shrugged, still smiling, and went back to responding to and filing the new recruit forms.

…

AN: Yes, that is indeed the grunt who put ‘Here comes Team Magma!’ on a sign in Route 110.


End file.
